The Debts
by Sheankelor
Summary: Severus is waiting to be met and is left cooling his heels. Why is Albus running late? And what will Severus ask of him? The final installment of the Command series. Sequel to "The Cost".


_AN: This is the end. There shall be nothing more in this series. And it is going to be a fluffy happy ending featuring my favorite character. If you are one of my steady readers, you know who that is. If you are not, it is Severus Snape. There was a reason he kept sneaking in the other ones. _

_A final warning, this is not angsty. Far less than the other two. I am a happy ending person, especially with Severus, so I hope that you enjoy. _

_Thanks_

_Ree_

_The Debts_

Severus peered into the white mist that had surrounded him since he had closed his eyes. He knew he was dead. The snake bite might be gone, but the memory of it and all the blood was still there. He wondered who was coming to meet him. Would it be his parents? Lily? Or Albus? He didn't want to see the first, the second needed to be meeting Harry and the third would explain why he was still sitting there.

As a tall figure in brightly colored robes appeared in the distance, he had to smirk. Albus was running late. He examined colorful figure as he approached. Death had done the man a lot of good. Years had been shed leaving his hair more red than silvery white though he was still as pale as ever. _'But both hands are the same color now.'_ The most noticeable difference wasn't discernible until the man stopped before him. The blue eyes were not twinkling. Instead they glowed with a quiet warmth and a hint of trepidation.

Looking into those eyes, Severus let his smirk become more pronounced. "It took you long enough to get here. I take it you were a bit busy? A tad bit overwhelmed?"

Albus searched the dark eyes for a moment. To most people they would appear as cold as normal, but he could see the peace in them. The contentedness to be here. Even the smirk had less of a sharp edge to it. He garnered a bit of strength from those subtle signs before he answered. "Just a bit. There were a few that I had to met before they continued. I saved the best to last."

Severus' eyes narrowed as he took in the phraseology. "You met everyone who passed away since this war started, haven't you? And you just spent this entire battle meeting with those who died."

Albus glanced down before meeting Severus' searching glare. "Yes. I had debts to pay." His expression showed that he was waiting for Severus to collect his.

Severus raised an eyebrow before shaking his head lightly. "Albus, you were the commander. You were the one who had to make all the tough decisions. Yes, you made mistakes, but you don't owe anyone a debt. Every single person had a choice. The only exception might have been Potter, and even he could have decided not to be nosy and annoyingly in the middle of events that did not concern him. He could have decided never to step into the Wizarding world. He could have decided to be like Granger and follow the rules."

"I sent them to their deaths, Severus. I set you up to die." Albus curled his fingers into the palms of his hand and hid them underneath the cuff of his sleeves. As he said, he had left the best for last. The one he owed the most to.

Severus cast the obviously anxious man an "are you crazy" look. "You are obviously a Gryffindor. Do you see Voldemort walking around trying to assuage his conscious? No. He knows that when you command, you have to just do what needs to be done."

Albus suppressed a grin. "You first must believe that Tom didn't kill his conscious long ago. And it shows that I am a better commander than him. I know that I had accumulated debts that had to be paid." He clasped his hands behind his back. "And you are the last to collect."

After taking a moment to search the older man's face, Severus sighed. He could tell that Albus would never let this go. The only way he was ever going to find a bit of peace here was to have Albus pay him back. He contemplated what to demand. What did he want the most?

Watching Severus' face slightly show his thoughts was a novelty to Albus. He could tell that the Potions Master was taking him seriously finally. Blinking once, he remembered he needed to tell Severus what he had been up to the past year while he waited for this moment. "Since I knew you would eventually get here, I took the liberty of designing you a home. It is in a quiet section. I was thinking that even though this is the next great adventure, your first one had enough excitement. It has the most excellent potions lab. There are windows that can let fresh air in, and I stocked it with all the ingredients that I could find. I consulted with a number of Potions Masters on what should be there. Then I also added others that I thought were interesting."

"You... windows... fresh air..." Shaking his head slightly, Severus started again. "Albus ingredients need to be stored at an optimal temperature and cannot be exposed to light and other variables." He stopped when he saw the happiness glowing out of the older man.

"Of course. The ingredients are stored in a basement storage area, with a sealed temporary storage cupboard in the lab." An eyebrow arched over bright blue eyes. "I did my research."

Pulling himself together, Severus folded his arms across his chest. "I know what I will accept as my payment for your debt to me." He could see Albus visible steel himself. It made him wonder what the others had required of him. "Why did you do this? What brought you to be the leader of the side of the Light in this war?"

Albus tensed when he heard the why. The rest of the question made him want to sag in relief and made his terrified as well. All Severus wanted him to do was to bare his soul the same way the dark haired man had done many years ago.

Taking a breath, he started. "I was paying for my mistakes." He let his eyes meet the dark pair that looked surprised. "I let my anger at the Muggles that destroyed my family affect me. I did eventually turn from intensely disliking them to being apathetic towards them. It took my family falling even more apart for me to see that the route I was taking was not a good one." He gazed off into the distance, as if watching an old memory drift by. "I had to imprison Gellert. That was the first down payment on my mistakes."

He focused back on Severus. "But it didn't change my apathy. And that apathy led to the next mistake, slighting Tom. Not helping him when he needed it. So, I had to pay for that one, too. But I couldn't pay back to him while he was alive, so I had to work at saving all that I could of the Wizarding world. To repair the damage made from my mistake." He met the dark eyes again. "And I had to believe that people could learn from their mistakes as I had done. They had to be given a chance."

He looked away again, unable to keep eye contact with the one person who paid the most for his mistake. "So, we are not much different in that respect. My mistake just affect far more people than yours did."

Severus shook his head, his disagreement visible on his face. "Albus... you egocentric …. Your mistake was one in many that shaped Voldemort. One that hardly affected him." He raised a hand to stop the words that the redhead was about to say and let a smirk slip through. "Definitely a Gryffindor, you shoulder the blame too easily. You went to Voldemort before you came here didn't you?"

Albus nodded. That was not an experience he would care to repeat, but it was a debt that was now paid. Everyone of his debts but this one was cleared.

Severus waited until he was certain that Albus would not elaborate. "So, I was truly the last." When Albus nodded again, Severus smiled. "Then, since you have not other obligations, you need to show me the way. I have some Marauders to go prank."

Albus grinned at the plotting look that had entered Severus' eyes. With a quiet breath he released the last of the responsibilities that he had carried for so long. "Would you mind if I join you? I know where Sirius Black is at the moment."

Severus cut a quick look at the relaxed blue eyed man that was patiently waiting on his answer. It seemed as if death would allow their friendship to finish growing, and he was not at all adverse to that. The spells in Albus' head would surpass all four of the Marauders put together. "I refuse to have a lot of brash Gryffindor methods."

Albus nodded. "If you remember correctly, I can be subtle."

Severus chuckled at the understatement. "So, you are teaming up with me against them?"

Albus smiled. "We do make an excellent team. A Slytherin with Gryffindor bravery and a Gryffindor with Slytherin cunning. And not one of them would suspect me."

"Then come on old man." Severus started in the direction that Albus had come from before he stopped and gave a light glare at Albus. "But there are no leaders, commanders or anything else like that. We are partners."

Albus nodded. "Partners. I think James is somewhere near Sirius. Once we've pranked Black, you could stop and see Lily."

Severus gazed off into the distance. "Potter... Harry will be there. I don't want to spoil things for him. We will talk later."

Albus rested a hand on the Potions Master's shoulder. "Harry had a choice. To return and defeat Voldemort or to continue forward. He choose to go back. Harry won't be here for many years to come."

A true smile appeared on Severus' face for just a moment before it was replaced by a crafty look. "Let's go hunting a dog, and then we will decided if it is time to see a stag and his flower."

Albus clasped his hands behind his back as the strolled next Severus. "So, what is the plan?"

Severus and Albus plotted as they headed out of the white mists.


End file.
